Ketonix Breath analyzer Help - Keto Level Comparisons


(Thomas Clark) #21

to your question, yes leave the unit plugged in, unused and undisturbed for 12 hours, then try it out, I don’t think you will need to re-calibrate it unless it is not working right. When you want to use it with your PC, open the software and hit start, wait for it to stop flash (Assuming it is already warmed up) when it has stopped flashing it is ready to read your breath. The breath at the end is the most important. I had to practice to get it right, you can expel some the air before you blow into it and you can sample multiple breaths in one test, DO NOT take a deep breath, do not breath out quickly, Get the last little bit out of your lungs into the unit. The highest number counts,


(Brian) #22

I find my Ketonics nearly useless. Can’t justify the cost of the blood ketone strips so I have only run 15 blood ketone strips for comparison. I had had my Ketonixs for several months before getting my Precision Xtra blood ketone unit. I left the setting on the Ketonix the way they came from the factory so it switches from blue to green at 40.
8/10/16 12:35pm ketonixs 42 blood 0.4
…5:22pm … 40 … 2.4
…11:32pm … 44 … 5.3
8/11/16. 1:12pm … 52 …1.1
8/16/16 …2:20pm …44 … 0.3
… 6:45pm …44 … 2.3
8/19/16 . 12:12am … 36 … 3.4

The ketronix doesn’t correlate well with my blood glucose either, although I have been low carb/keto for quite a while urine strips had a better correlation with blood ketone strips than did the Ketonix.

If I know I’ve been consistently good I typically will get some Ketonix readings in the 50s but find it near useless for telling me how I react to various foods and changes in my diet. So basically if I’ve been consistently very good it will confirm that, but I don’t need the confirmation at that point because I already know how I’m doing.

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(Barbara Greenwood) #23

Well, confusion reigns!

I had plugged ketonix into my computer about 7pm last night and was working on it till about 9.30. When I went back to check before going to bed around 11.30, computer had powered down. So I plugged ketonix into a power socket instead, and it gave out its every blue glow all night.

First test around 8am. As per instructions, I unplugged it and let it cool down for 10 minutes before doing anything else. Then I plugged it into PC and hit calibrate. While it was doing that, I did a finger prick - 0.9, which is within lower reaches, but definitely in NK (0.5-3.0).

Then ketonix test: no movement, then 1…2…3. And stop. 3ppm in breath. Did multiple tests, tried different positions of mouthpiece. Still 3.

Unplugged and plugged into battery, waited for it to stop flashing… blew… nothing. No change. Distinctly blue. Which would make sense, because the default setting starts green at 4.

So plugged into PC again, waited for lights to stop and meanwhile tested blood again: 1.2. Ketonix: 4.

So… is it technique… or does it need to be 12 hours uninterrupted (I’ll have to plug in overnight again if that’s the case)… or have I got a dud?

I bought from Amazon, so I assume would need to return to them.


(Andrew Anderson) #24

I thought mine was broke, or I was failing keto. I took a few days off of heavy breathing and ignored the $200 glowing whistle. I did a couple day fat fast this week and tried again. I followed all the instructions and finally nailed the breathing technique. It does not need to be a huge breath, I exhaled until I thought I would fall over. The blue bar started filling before I finished! I hit a 8.6 and a 9.6 five mins later. I hate being patient, but it paid off this time.


(Barbara Greenwood) #25

The tip on not breathing out hard was a good one - I concentrate on keeping the flow slow, so I can count to at least 15 before I feel like I’m going to die :slight_smile:

Out all day today, and all I’d had to eat was a bowl of tomato soup. Too carby, really, as it spiked my BG from 5.5 to 8.5 - but that was at 1.30pm, and because of the travelling, didn’t eat again until 7.15pm.

I ketonixed just before eating - at 19, which was 6 green flashes - and BG 4.4. And an hour later - still 19 (BG 4.8)

I plan to check again at bedtime, and I’m building up a table of the correlation between the visual display and the number, so I’ll know what I’m about if I use it from the battery.

And I’m going to use one of my remaining test strips per day, at different times, to build up that relationship.


(KCKO, KCFO) #26

Brenda,
Is there an online chart somewhere that will indicate when you are in nutritional ketosis for the Ketonix?

I have one ordered and there is not a lot of useful information about them out there.
I have repeatedly seen the advice to blow slowly, only the last part of the breath will give a valid reading.
Nothing really about what numbers should be showing up on the software, maybe that is in the manual that is included?

Barbara, Please keep updating your experience, hopefully I will be right behind you in a couple of days :).


(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #27

@collaroygal
I don’t have mine hooked up to software atm.
Just got cable Internet.
My ISP before was too slow to do much.

I have the second generation Ketonix.
It has four colors, each flashing up to 10 times.
Blue, green, yellow and red, red being highest.

When my blood ketones are just into nutritional range(1.2, 1.7), my Ketonix is flashing yellow. Higher? Such as 2.4 or 2.9, I get flashes of red.

Nice correlation and it is consistant.

I plan to connect to software soon.
I want to geek out on charts and graphs like @erdoke and @TomSeest and @carolT


#28

This was me this morning, on the ‘new’ Ketonix software, I don’t know how the new scale correlates with mmol/l but I think I’m solidly in ketosis? This is set to the “Blue” range by the way.


(Louise ) #29

At the Low Carb Breck conference, the inventor Michel Lundel was clear that there is no correlation to the readings you get from breath and blood ketones. Remember that they are different chemicals and different pathways.

What he was clear on, was the value of breath ketones. He said the breath ketones are superior as they give you a live indication of ketone reading rather than blood (BHOB) as it is a waste product.

I also heard at his presentation that there is new software, so am downloading now!


(Barbara Greenwood) #30

Well I can understand the “they’re measuring different things” bit - much as people who use the Freestyle Libre shouldn’t get too upset when it doesn’t exactly match their fingerprick readings, because they are measuring different things. Interstitial fluid tracks behind blood glucose, may miss extreme peaks and troughs and can also be influenced by local conditions such as pressing on the sensor. But since blood glucose is constantly changing, and in any case is not exactly the same at every point in the body at any point in time, you just have to understand the limitations of each.

I’m a bit puzzled by him saying BHOB is a waste product, though - I thought it was the main form the body used, and it’s in the blood because it’s being transported round the body to all the parts that can use it. I’d like to hear more detail on that, if it’s available.

Also be aware that the new software gives you the option of reporting in either Ketnonix Units or ppm (parts per million) and I surmise you need to choose the correct one for your device. Mine reads in ppm, but the dial @Vampire showed is in ketonix Units. Don’t know what the correlation is…

I’ve just blown 19 ppm on my ketonix and my blood level was 1.0

I’m finding the flashing lights a bit confusing… I’ve configured mine so that Green starts at 4ppm and Yellow at 17, with Red starting at 30. NK is supposed to be between 4 and 30ppm, so I’m basically dividing the NK range equally between green and yellow, with blue being not in ketosis and red being… are you serious???

I’ve had a few occasions when the number has gone into the yellow range, e.g. 19, 21 - but the flashing lights were still green. And as soon as you take it out of your mouth so you can count the flashes, they start reducing. Maybe I’ll get used to it.


#31

I think it’s just @LouiseReynolds’s wording in the sentence - I think she meant that since the Ketonix measures acetone in the breath which is a waste product, the inventor is saying that measuring acetone reflects the presence of the byproduct of ketones after they’ve been used whereas BOHB is an actual ketone body in the blood before it has been used.

I’m not convinced with the accuracy of measuring acetone over BOHB, I’ll need more information and time to research before I’m convinced.


(Thomas Clark) #32

Is that image from the Ketonix Software? Mine is not like that, I use the Java app on my PCs. It displays Parts Per Million which is a more common measurement in gasses as apposed to liquids.


(Thomas Clark) #33

I am pretty sure that Acetone is an actual ketone body and not just the result of ketogenic metabolism,


#34

I’m open to other references than Wikipedia, but there Acetone is considered a breakdown product of Acetoacetate.

Ketone bodies are three water-soluble molecules (acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate, and their spontaneous breakdown product, acetone) that are produced by the liver from fatty acids[1] during periods of low food intake (fasting), carbohydrate restrictive diets, starvation, prolonged intense exercise,[2] or in untreated (or inadequately treated) type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Acetone is the decarboxylated form of acetoacetate which cannot be converted back into acetyl-CoA except via detoxification in the liver where it is converted into lactic acid, which can, in turn, be oxidized into pyruvic acid, and only then into acetyl-CoA.


(Thomas Clark) #35

If Acetone is decaboxylated acetoacetate than it might actually by a better indicator of on going Ketosis than betahydroxybuterate, you can have high levels of blood ketones that are not actually being used at that time. I Wonder how long it takes acetone to dissipate from the lungs or how long it takes to get into the lungs?


(Thomas Clark) #36

I down loaded the new software

It is kind of weird that it has a “Measure” button instead of “Save” Button like the prevous Java App
But it does seem to be ready faster than the previous software.


(Thomas Clark) #37

As you can see it says “PPM”, I am not sure why the post above just shows “Units”?


#38

What sort of numbers should we be shooting for on the new software? I was 62 this morning.


#40

IMO, there is something wrong with the new software. I went from being a constant high 30s / los 40s with the old software, to barely being able to get past 10. I don’t understand how I can have such a dramatic change, one day to the next. I have re-calibrated several times; but still, my highest reading is a 12. Oddly enough, I get much, much higher readings when I plug the device into my computer, then when I breathe into it (between 50 and 60). I guess there’s more ketones in my office, than in my lungs :wink:

One thing I have noticed, is that when the device is plugged into my computer, it will flash two greens (low end of the scale); but if I use it on battery power, I get 5 green blinks (middle to high end of scale). I think there is a serious issue with the software.

I have written to Ketonix support; but I am not very hopeful of getting a response from them, as I had problems when I first got the device and it took them nearly a month to respond to my numerous emails.


(Beth) #41

For those of you with the new software, do you have to do any sort of “click” to save the data? I went to a new laptop and so I’m not sure if I haven’t set up things properly on the new laptop or if it’s just the new software, but I don’t have any data to view. I’ve sent a question to the support folks but thought someone here might have a quick answer about how the new stuff works.